IndyCar - Andretti Autosports Long Beach Preview

Long Beach, Apr. 9, 2012: The Andretti name is prominent in the 38-year history of the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Andretti Autosport has won the last two IZOD IndyCar Series races at Long Beach, powering Ryan Hunter-Reay (2010) and Mike Conway (2011) into the winner's circle. Mario Andretti won the race when it was a Formula One event in 1977, then three more times in Indy cars (1984-85, 1987). Team owner Michael Andretti has unique bookend victories at Long Beach, earning his first career Indy car victory in 1986 and then winning for the final time in his career 16 years later in 2002.

GoDaddy.comJames Hinchcliffe, Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, No. 27

Hinchcliffe enters the Long Beach weekend fourth in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series point standings. He finished a career-best fourth place on the streets of Long Beach last season.

"Long Beach has always been one of my favourite events. Not only is it a great track, but the fans, the atmosphere, just everything about the place! As far as street circuits go, it's tops. Great layout and some good passing opportunities. I always love driving there and given that the GoDaddy car was competitive in St. Pete, and Andretti Autosport has run very well there the last few years, hopefully we can keep that momentum going and bring home a good result."

Did You Know: Hinchcliffe has kicked off a campaign to take over the homepage of GoDaddy.com. The campaign is viral and social media based and uses the twitter hashtag #HinchForHomepage. Follow @HinchCampaign on Twitter for all the latest updates from the campaign trail.

RCcolaLogo Marco Andretti, Team RC Cola Chevrolet, No. 26

Andretti will be racing in his fourth Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend. In his Long Beach debut in 2009, he gained 13 spots, finishing sixth while leading six laps.

"I want to turn my street course game around this weekend and go for a win. I'm super-competitive, so I want to win everywhere and every time.... even if it's a warmup lap, if they're keeping track of the times, I want to be at the top of the list. But, it would mean a lot to me to win at Long Beach. I love the track and I love the atmosphere of the event. My family has a lot of history here, and it's a place where my dad got his first and last Indy car wins, so it would be special for me to win here."

Did You Know: Marco will be attempting to add to the Andretti family legacy at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. His grandfather Mario has four wins here (in Formula 1 and Indy cars) while his father and team owner, Michael, has two victories.

dhl_sundrop_logos Ryan Hunter-Reay, Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Chevrolet, No. 28

Hunter-Reay, winner of the 2010 Grand Prix of Long Beach, enters the weekend sixth in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series point standings. He will be followed throughout the event by camera crews from the NBC Sports Network show, "INDYCAR 36." (The episode will begin airing prior to the telecast of the race from Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 29.)

"Long Beach is the crown jewel street course of our series. It's the biggest and best event outside of Indy, and the winner's list here is like a who's-who of racing history. I'm really lucky, privileged and honored to be on that list of winners. It's my very favorite weekend of the season."

"The Long Beach event can't be beat. It's got it all - a great setting on the coastline, a great atmosphere and a great track. The track itself is really challenging for the drivers and also challenging for the cars. You have long straights followed by very hard braking zones, so it's really tests every aspect of your race team."